18 January 2016

The Master-Filmmaker and his treasure trove

Martin Scorsese is known for his intrepid filmmaking style. His unique art of montage is in a class by itself. He had been cultivating passion for making films since a very tender age. His first bold take in the career was ‘Who’s that knocking at My Door’ (1968), which is supposed to be his first feature-length flick. His latent taste for ‘music’ often got manifested on his screenplay. Scorsese’s remarkable signature technique is to provide voiceover which can be faintly compared to Shakespeare’s soliloquies in the few of his greatest works.

The evergreen Martin Scorsese

He uses genre-specific compilation scores in his films. Keeping aside his literally adaptations, Scorsese preferred to put the real life maladies in his frame and imitate the real life everydayness closely.

His five most admired works are listed below :

TAXI DRIVER (1976) :

A neo-noir psychological thriller, ‘Taxi Driver’ is Scorsese’s 1976 masterpiece that won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. De Niro was worshipped back during the time of its release because of his gritty performance on screen. The story narrates the tale of Travis Bickle, a shattered and depressed young man, who becomes a taxi driver to survive the chronic insomnia he has been suffering from late often. The story unfolds the mysteries as it progresses with a gripping mood. The film won four Academy Awards for its brilliant execution.GOODFELLAS (1990) :

‘Goodfellas’ is one of the most meticulously made features ever made by Scorsese. It is an American biographical crime film that adapted its story’s crux from non-fiction ‘Wiseguy’ (1986) penned by Nicholas Pileggi, the co-writer of the Screenplay. The feature marks the oscillation between the rise and fall of Lucchese crime family associate Henry Hill and his friends. Scorsese initiated the making of the film naming it ‘Wiseguy’, but postponed it a couple of days after. Later, began remaking the feature naming it ‘Goodfellas’. The film got nominated for six Academy Awards including the highly regarded awards from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.THE DEPARTED (2006) :

It wasn't until 2006 that the master filmmaker received the Academy Award for the best director category. The Departed finally fetched him one! An engrossing thriller about the Irish mob and the police's encounters in the quest to finally nail the infamous Frank Costello! A stellar cast ensemble of Jack Nicholson, Leonardo di Caprio, Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg make this movie worth the 151 minute watch! One is a mole in the Massachusetts police department while another is a rat in the Costello family, its high time you find out who's what!

From the left Leonardo di caprio, Jack Nicholson and Matt Damon

MEAN STREETS (1973) :

‘Mean Streets’ is an American crime flick co-written by Scorsese and Mardik Martin. This film is identified as Scorsese’s first feature of his own design. It is a sympathetic ride which sums up into a tragic end. The film revolves around two important characters: ‘Charlie’ and ‘Johny Boy’ who grow up in an environment of blood and guns. The ground-breaking effect of the soundtrack sets the film apart adding an iconic flavour to it. De Niro has won the National Society of Film Critics award for his outstanding play on screen as the’ Best Supporting Actor’.

RAGING BULLS (1980) :

Adapted from Jake LaMotta's memoir Raging Bull : My story, Raging Bulls is one of the most critically acclaimed American movies and certainly one of the best movies Scorsese made! Interestingly enough, Martin was at first reluctant in making this movie, but was later convinced as he came to relate to LaMotta's story! The story of a self-destructive boxer with excessive rage disorders brilliantly portrayed by Robert De Niro has made this movie an all time classic!SHUTTER ISLAND (2010) :

‘Shutter Island’ is a Neo-noir psychological thriller directed by Scorsese. Leonardo Di Caprio stars the character of U.S. Marshall Edward ‘Teddy’ Daniels who investigates a psychiatric provision and disappearance of a patient on Shutter Island. The film hit the Box-Office making a profit of 294.8 million dollars. The film has been recognised as the ‘Best Thriller’ with the ‘Best Production Design’ by the Academy of Science Fiction. Also, Di Caprio undoubtedly bagged the award for being nominated as the ‘Best Actor’ for his skilful rendition.

About the author :-

Manjima Sarkar is a movie buff and a dance enthusiast besides having an interest in music. The movie-columnist for ExPRESS Magazine is pursuing her graduation in English from Loreto college, Kolkata. Some of her other articles are as follows :- http://express5515.blogspot.in/2015/12/the-nolan-journey.html